Makeup 101 Vocabulary

When that interest in makeup comes around and takes you by the hand, you'd think it would be fairly straight forward experience. A bit of foundation, a bit of the ole blush, a tube of mascara and a nice lipstick and you'll be grand. Boy, were my eyes opened as soon as I started becoming interested in makeup and beauty. I thought ahead and went to YouTube before stepping foot near a makeup stand or putting anything near my face. I watched countless videos that would recommend this product and that product but what really made my head boggle were all the terms that they used. What on earth was a 'crease'? And what's the difference between a waterline and a lower lash line? I didn't know that there were so many parts to my face! I had no idea that I had an 'inner corner'! Let me help you out with what I've learnt over the past year.

Below are a selection of words that I've come across over the past year and have hsd to explain when talking to other people that are just starting out.

→ Browbone 

Your browbone is directly underneath your eyebrow but above where your eye-socket begins.

→ Crease 

Your crease is basically the deepest part of your eye where your eyelid meets your eye socket - . Not to be confused with 'creasing'.

→ Creasing

This is when a product collects in the creases (lines) of your face or eyelid.

→ Cupid's Bow 

On your upper lip, there is a natural dip where your filtrum is (that's tear-shaped up) and it makes a shape that looks like a bow on it's side. That's your Cupid's Bow.

→ Inner Corner
This is the nearest part of the eye to your nose. It include your inner crease, inner lid and tear duct area and inner lashlines.

→ Lid 

It's pretty self-explanatory. The lid is your eyelid from the crease down to your upper lashline.

→ T-zone

This your forehead and the bridge of your nose down - it forms a T shape on your face.

→ Waterline

On the lower part of your eye, there is a thin wet rim that separates your lashes from your eye, that lower rim is your waterline.

→ Lower Lashline

Not to be confused with your waterline. The lower lashline is the area directly underneath your lower eyelashes. I struggled with understanding this one because whenever I would apply makeup there, it would simply sit on my lower lashes and wouldn't look nice at all! Use a smaller or flat brush for this area as it'll sneak under your lashes easily.

→ Upper Lashline
It's the opposite of your lower lashline. Your upper lashline is the imaginary line directly above your upper lashes. 

→ Tightline

This one took me a while to figure out exactly what it was. The tightline is the opposite of your waterline. It's that little rim underneath your upper lashes, not above it but underneath. Yep, the inner rim of your eye. This can be tricky to get to as it is so close to your eye but practice makes perfect. 

→ Tear duct

This is the inner edge of your eye near your nose.

These are just a few of the terms that I didn't understand or recognise when I first became interested in makeup. There are dozens of other terms out there but these were the most confusing. I hope that you found this post useful and if you have any further questions, don't hesitate to leave a comment or to get in touch with me. I'll be happy to answer any questions that I can.

** Disclaimer: Makeup illustrations from Freepik.com